Large Groups on X??

[MayrMN]

Has anyone had to deal with a large group sailing on X with them?

 

We had, what I'm told, was an 800 person group on the 1/28 sailing of the Connie.

 

It was aggravating, to say the least. Mostly because they 'hogged' late seating, but also because too many of them diminished the cruising experience through some class-less behavior.

 

I left the ship yesterday ready to rant, but I just don't have it in me. I just want to hear from some other 'critics';)

[Danno]

One of the worst nightmares I have about cruising is the one where I go through, what you went through....don't expect any sympathy from ANY cruise line. They don't care...it's all about revenue.

[SANDY BEACH]

Was class-less behavior only in the dining room or did you experience it throughout the ship? It sounds like a mega group is now on the Infinity. I'm so glad I am sailing next week and do not need to deal with "a group". Were sections of the ship closed to accommodate them alone?

[flagger]

Was class-less behavior only in the dining room or did you experience it throughout the ship? It sounds like a mega group is now on the Infinity. I'm so glad I am sailing next week and do not need to deal with "a group". Were sections of the ship closed to accommodate them alone?

How do you know there is not a group booked next week. There has been a group on all of my cruises.

[ocngypz]

You just never know when there is an affinity group or not.

[BTDookie]

It was a large Automotive distributor. While executives of the company were classy, their customers (700 of the 800) for the most part were not.

 

These people were on a free trip. All they had to pay was their bar bills.

 

The other 800 or so guests on the ship at the time were people trying to enjoy their long looked-forward-to vacations on what was supposed to be a very classy vessel.

 

Thank god we were in the aft in a room with a HUGE veranda. We were able to get away from what we called "the freaks".

[Loracpin2]

We had a group of 300 (including unbelievably misbehaved children) on our Millenium sailing in Jan. 2005. For the entire week, none of the ships regualtions seemed to apply to the majority of the group. What made it worse was that security didn't do anything to correct the problems. To top it off, we had the worst disembarkation ever because once again, about 50 of them didin't follow the policies and created an unsafe situation. I can tell you there were a lot of very upset loyal Celebrity customers in the theater and ultimately Security was called to handle the situation. I did call Customer Service when we returned home and made a formal complaint. Needless to say, I never heard back from them.

[SANDY BEACH]

Flagger, I guess I don't know there isn't a group booked next week. I haven't heard any mention of it on these boards. Hopefully, a peaceful cruise.

[flagger]

Flagger, I guess I don't know there isn't a group booked next week. I haven't heard any mention of it on these boards. Hopefully, a peaceful cruise.

Most groups are not participants on Cruise Critic so it is doubtful you will find them posting on a roll call. In fact, I think I read that only about 2% of the sailing public visits Cruise Critic.

 

The odds are more than likely there will be a group booked on a cruise in any given week.

[greeneg]

I have to admit that the tattos, undersized clothes and non conformance to the dress codes did stand out on the 1/28/2006 Constellation sailing. Of course, anytime that you have a group that size, the range of people is going to be pretty broad. I guess the "biker" types stood out more than anything against the usual Celebrity crowd. Most of the keystone group were pretty nice; but there were some.......

 

 

I didn't like the idea of having certain decks on the ship closed at certain times, but hey, a group that size has a lot of clout.....and that is just reality no matter what I personally may think.

 

And of course, they do contribute to my RCCL stock dividend.....:)

[BTDookie]

Based on a conversation I overheard at the SJ Airport Sat AM after the cruise, Keystone has booked this same event on the Constellation for the last 6 years so clearly Celebrity looks the other way during that week. I heard another executive say that the trip only came together 3 weeks prior to departure. Who knows. This IS the time of year for trips of that nature. Prices are generally lower and the weather is wonderful based on being stuck in Iowa or something like that.

 

Large groups can be frustrating. I go to Vegas and Orlando every year for meetings that essentially monopolize a location and I feel for people that have planned for that long awaited trip to said location, while we are there simply because of the dynamics of a huge group of people that know each other.

 

This group did take over the entire 11th deck on day for some open-bar lunch. Most participants only attended in order to get the "free drinks". They also took over the 10th deck pool area at least one evening, as well as the late seating in the dining room and the early theater seatings. It really did get old.

At times I felt like I at Bike Week in Daytona, alternating with feelings of being at a NASCAR race. Not a crowd I would choose to be on a 7-day cruise with.

 

My 2005 Celebrity cruise was completely different. No large groups. Sophistication was the norm, not the exception. The cruise left FLL on Jan 2. Perhaps a better time of the year to try and avoid these large corporate groups.

 

I will be writing a letter and I did reference this on my guest survey and yes I expect to hear nothing back in return.

[GaryNFla]

I was on the 1/28 sailing and was very unhappy with the Keystone group. I don't mind the extra money for a X cruise but I do expect a classier group of travelers on board. I must say I had a couple of conversations with 2 different Keystone guys and they seemed very nice..

 

Mary is was really nice meeting you and your husband..I have tried some of the spices from the tour we took and they are great, especially the nutmeg and bay leaves..

 

Gary ( more than likely will not cruise X on my next cruise)

[wrp96]

There have been a lot of complaints on the HAL board in the last several months on this issue as well. I've seen them on the Crystal board also.

 

I think this is an industry problem not a Celebrity problem (i.e. they're all kowtowing to the person with the deepest pockets).

[Sky Sweet]

It is not uncommon for a large group of people traveling together to be loud and obnoxious, even though the people involved may behave very differently outside that group.